What is the National Guard and what does it do?
One of the US’ military reserve services has been in the news in 2025.
The National Guard has been activated across the US several times in 2025 — from a deployment during protests against ICE activity in Los Angeles in June to federalized law enforcement in Washington, DC, in August. Courts have stalled further deployments to Chicago and Portland, while Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has activated the Guard in Memphis.
The National Guard is a military reserve that responds to disasters and civil disorder within the US. It is divided into the Air National Guard and the Army National Guard, each of which have units in all 50 states, Washington, DC, and three US territories.
What does the National Guard do?
As a reserve service, the National Guard trains and deploys troops to respond to national emergencies. It also supports global military priorities when the armed forces need additional support. The Guard has been called into service during every war in American history, as well as in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and COVID-19 in 2020.
The National Guard is unique in that it usually operates under state (or territorial) authority. All other units of the armed forces and reserves operate under federal authority.
Who is in charge of the National Guard?
Historically, National Guard organizations are controlled by the governors of their state or territory (in Washington, DC, the National Guard reports to the president). A governor typically activates the National Guard unit into state active duty during a natural disaster, like a wildfire or hurricane.
Units can also be “federalized,” which means they are activated by, and operate under the command of, the president. Title 10 of the US Code gives the president the authority to mobilize the National Guard without state governors’ consent. In the past, it’s often been invoked to deploy troops to wars overseas.
Is it normal for the president to deploy the National Guard in the US?
The Guard says that it has been called upon by the president within the US at least 10 times since World War II.
Prior to the June activation, it had been 33 years since the National Guard was deployed on US soil: President George H.W. Bush did so during the Los Angeles riots in May 1992.
In some cases, the president has mobilized the Guard with the state or territory governor’s consent. In at least six cases, including the June ICE protests in California, the governor has not approved.
Presidential National Guard activations within the US
Federalizations of the National Guard for domestic missions, 1945–2025
What is the Insurrection Act?
Many of these activations included the president invoking the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the president to call on the military for civilian law enforcement in cases of “invasion, insurrection, or obstruction of the laws;” to protect civil rights; or in other cases when the president deems it impossible to enforce the law in a particular area without intervention.
The Insurrection Act was last invoked during the 1992 LA riots.
How many people serve in the National Guard?
The National Guard has 432,460 members as of June 2025, about equivalent to the population of Minneapolis. This includes 328,084 (76%) Army National Guard and 104,376 (24%) Air National Guard.
About 97% of the National Guard lives in the US, and another 13,000 live abroad. Texas has more troops than any other state: 22,367. It’s followed by New York (17,404) and California (17,346).
Texas’s 22,367 National Guard troops top all other states and territories.
National Guard personnel, June 30, 2025
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